The Briar Patch

Final blog post of our Paris, Italy, Greece trip. I have posted Paris, Italy, and wrapped up Greece. You can read all those if you want. We had finished our tour and were sitting in the Athens airport. We had one more day, and it would be an afternoon in Paris. Athens airport is nothing amazing. It is large and international, but the selection for eating is pretty minimal. You're not getting a great sit-down meal. Ended up buying headphones in a store and paid way too much. As our plane loaded, they started using a metal box to size up carry-on. If the bag didn't fit in the box, they were making people get rid of shit or repack. We went into panic mode; without a doubt, we are not going to fit. I'll just admit we are overpackers. So, the clothes and books go in the pockets. I don't even remember all the shit we moved, and then, just before us, they put the box away. I am not sure if it was for cheaper seats or what the hell it was, but we didn't have to use it. SO r...

  Let's start roughly 4600 years ago. That's when we start seeing Greek history. Or the early version, like the Mycenaeans and the Minoans. 2000 BC is roughly the start of what we think of as ancient Greece. Around 800 BC, we start to see the rise of city-states. The two biggies, of course, are Sparta and Athens. 499 marks the start of the Greco-Persian Wars. The whole movie 300 times. They last roughly 20 years, and in 479 the Greeks finally crushed Persia, and we hit the golden age of ancient Greece. Here, you get what most people are thinking of: Pericles, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and the Parthenon is built. Good times, right? 48 years is all they actually are. 431, they go to war again, the Peloponnesian Wars. Athens vs. Sparta, the big showdown, and yes, Sparta wins by 404; nearly 30 more years they were at war. Greece just loves to fight, but then Greece is in decline, still a power after this, but not a giant. In 336 BC, they took one more big swing. Alex the Great be...

Hockey players can be either douches or great guys. Let me tell you about some douches. We recently played a team all say 17 - 21 and they literally all looked like someone you would cast as the rich bully in a teen drama. They literally all would have been perfectly cast, except not like a muscled bully just a rich kid. They constantly chirped which is part of hockey but then back shit up when you shit talk, don't just scurry away, like rats. What really got me was they singled out a single player to try and pick on. Someone with some issues. If you have to "punch down" your a loser, you should be embarrassed. I am 5 foot fuck all and I take pride in battling guys way bigger than me. Hell I lose a lot but I cause them issues. Everyone on my team even says that, punching down I couldn't imagine. Plus they had 2 "coaches" on the bench. Guys my age, probably a couple dads I assume. Flat out WTF! Your in a rec league of ball hockey in the lowest or almost lowes...

When does reality kick back in for you on holidays? Everyone loves before, or so I think. The last day of work, the drive to the airport, and sitting having a meal and a drink, but when does it wear off? I know a person who says the second you leave, it wears off, and you know you have to go back to work. I don't think like that; it almost feels like, why go if you're worried it's already almost time to get back at it? My wife is the planner; we are off to Spain in a year, and she is already looking into things. Which is great for me. I personally hate looking things up. I want to be shocked and amazed, but with years of traveling with her, I have learned there is a lot of value in having a plan. If you want to be guaranteed of doing things. If you want to wander or relax, you may not need a plan. With a trip like this, though, I want to do things; what's the point in traveling across the world to do nothing! I don't know when reality kicks in for her, but it was ar...

 Another chapter in an ongoing travel blog. Might want to read them before you dive in here. Already been through Paris, Rome, Venice, Florence and Verona. If not check out a day in Kalambaka and Holy Meteora                                                                 As you can see not my pic FYI Our morning was the same as every other one. Awake early, even though it was a late bed. Actually, I think they gave us an extra hour of sleep, but it didn't make a difference; we're still up early and down for breakfast. This was another large hotel, and it must have had a few tours staying, as we filled the breakfast area, another bus load or two were also down there filling plates. Breakfast was the same as always, meats, cheese, fruit, breads. Again, all good. I thought Athens might mix it up, ...